Birmingham City will enter the Championship season with optimism after a summer of preparation under Harry Redknapp.

Blues are aiming to be in and around the play-off mix after improving the spine of the side with three impressive signings, but there is still work to be done.

The club must press on with adding to the squad, while on the pitch there are questions that need answering to.

Here's a closer look at the issues that still need to be solved.

Finding a striker

This has been a top priority all summer and remains the hottest topic on fans' lips.

Blues simply must bring in a striker to share the goalscoring burden with Che Adams, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Clayton Donaldson this season and while the recruitment team have been working on deals, the club are yet to add to their forward ranks.

Jordan Hugill, Sam Gallagher and Robbie Keane are the strikers to have been most heavily linked with moves to St Andrew's, but with 10 days until the season gets underway, it is not yet clear who will feature upfront at Ipswich on the opening day.

If Blues can get anywhere close to realising their promotion ambitions, an upgrade in tehf inal third is required.

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Mentality

Because of the perilous league positions towards the end of the season but also under Gary Rowett's stewardship before that, Blues had an 'underdog' mentality that surrounded them.

It served them well when they were considered to be punching above their weight under Rowett, but Blues now have one of the most experienced managers in the game in charge who is serious about promotion - and they must assert themselves.

The 'underdog' tag needs to be dropped for Blues to become a feared force in the division once again.